Boy 3, pushed out of a moving matatu

Three year old Moses Ombayo at Oyugis police station. The minor was pushed out of a KCM 239 K and sustained serious bruises on his face at Othoro in Kabondo Kasipul. [Photo BY Denish Ochieng/Standard]

A family in Othoro village in Kasipul, Homabay County is seeking justice for their three year old child who was injured after being pushed from a moving matatu.

The minor  escaped  death narrowly but  suffered  bruises  on his  face after he fell on tarmac at Othoro  market  after being pushed  by a matatu conductor on Christmas day.

The boy was in the company of his mother Serfine Omondi and were traveling from Kisumu to Othoro when the accident occurred.

According to the mother, they had signaled the conductor to stop the vehicle (registration number KCM 239 K). It stopped briefly but sped off immediately before the boy could alight as it was competing for passengers.

"The conductor who was in a hurry and pushed the boy who fell on tarmac. “When I protested, the conductors said that there was nothing I could do as the vehicle is owned by a police officer” explained the boy’s mother.

The boy’s parents spent a better part of Christmas day seeking treatment for their son.

Mrs Omondi also lost all her luggage and a purse containing Sh8, 450 and a National Identity Card in the vehicle as she could not retrieve them.

The mother added that as the boy fell on the tarmac, passengers started shouting at the matatu crew, making the driver to speed off from the scene.

The boy sustained serious bruises on his face and was rushed to Matata Nursing Home in Oyugis where he was treated and released on parent’s request due to financial constraints. He has been booked for an X-ray scan on Wednesday to ascertain if he might have had internal injuries and skull fracture.

At the police station in Oyugis, the parents’ case had been booked under OB 3/26/12/2017 and even as the driver sped away, the station confirmed that the matatu crew had not reported the incident anywhere in their jurisdiction as per the law.

The father of the boy James Omondi who had taken a personal initiative to hunt for the vehicle stumbled upon it at Sondu market en route Oyugis again from Kisumu and the rude driver disagreed with him putting him off with claims that the vehicle belonged to a police officer and that case would go nowhere.

“I was shocked when the brave driver who almost killed my son addressed me rudely in a manner likely to defeat justice as the vehicle belongs to a police officer and I can do nothing as a civilian.” Said Omondi.

Police in Oyugis have vowed to track down the vehicle and make all involved in causing unnecessary harm to the minor face justice.